Quick Summary: The Bombay High Court at Aurangabad decided in favor of Machindra Maruti Gaikwad, whose wife, Manda Gaikwad, a nurse, died during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court changed a previous decision that denied him an insurance claim under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna.
Machindra Maruti Gaikwad's wife, Manda, worked as a nurse at the Civil Hospital in Ahmednagar since 1993. She was assigned to the COVID Care Centre at Mahatma Phule Agricultural University, Rahuri, where she tested positive for COVID-19 on April 30, 2021, and sadly passed away on May 5, 2021.
The District Collector of Ahmednagar turned down Machindra's claim for a ₹50,00,000 insurance payout. Why? They said there wasn't an RTPCR report proving that Manda had COVID-19 when she died. The report they had showed her as COVID-negative, which led to the claim being denied on September 15, 2022.
"The petitioner has not produced the COVID-positive certificate of the deceased," stated the rejection.
Machindra's lawyer, Mr. R.A. Tambe, argued that even though the RTPCR report was negative, other medical records clearly showed Manda had COVID-19. A CT scan on April 19, 2021, showed severe viral lung infection, and her death certificate listed COVID-19 as a cause.
Judges Arun R. Pedneker and Vaishali Patil-Jadhav looked at the evidence, including the CT scan and medical certificates, and decided that the rejection was unfair.
"The overwhelming evidence indicates that the deceased was positive at the time of her demise," the judges noted.
The court stressed that technical details should not outweigh strong evidence. They mentioned similar cases where courts focused on practical evidence rather than strict paperwork.
The court canceled the Collector's order and told them to process the insurance claim within eight weeks. This decision shows how important it is to consider all evidence and the human side in such cases.
This case reminds us of the sacrifices made by healthcare workers during the pandemic and the need for systems that support their families in times of loss.
